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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: season · tear · patient · rash · saw · hand · march · swing

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. tear — to rip
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. march — the month
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. season — of the year
  8. swing — to play on
  9. hand — in cards
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. march — the month
  13. rash — hasty
  14. march — music
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. rash — a series
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. season — in sport
  21. saw — the tool
  22. swing — music
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. swing — in golf

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com